The Scars They Hide

Chapter Thirty-Nine - Meeting the Abdullahs

Chapter Thirty-Nine - Meeting the Abdullahs

Sometimes Lutfiyah would look at May and her chest would fill up with so much love and amazement that the only way she felt like she could express it was to squeeze May as hard as she could. Naturally, she suppressed this urge but she would still feel that huge ball in her chest. It usually ended in a thousand pictures and if May was awake then the poor child would be covered in kisses. She didn't always appreciate the wave of affection but Lutfiyah didn't really care about that.

Sometimes she would catch Jaafar staring at May with the oddest expression in his eyes. One day when she'd gathered the courage to ask, he'd said that the feeling he got was quite similar to what Lutfiyah felt but with it came a wave of fear that if he didn't soak it all up in that moment, if he spent time doing something else except watching her grow, he'd miss it. He'd blink and she'd be gone.

After getting over the shock and pain of his words, she'd recommended a therapist to him. Jaafar had stared at her then kissed her forehead, saying he'd think about it.

The trip to South Africa was more stressful than Lutfiyah anticipated. She got sick a month before their trip and never fully recovered, her exhaustion following her onto the plane and into the foreign country. Never one for car sickness or anything of the sort, she found her stomach in turmalt during the long flight. Their overnight layover in Doha didn't help and by the time they reached South Africa, she was ready to collapse.

It didn't help that May also seemed to have picked up something and was running warmer than expected. Jaafar worried that they might give them an issue at customs due to her fever but miraculously, she cooled down just enough for them to pass through safely.

They were not due to meet her in laws until the next day but Lutfiyah still felt guilty for the argument Jaafar had had with his father a few days before.

Muhammad Abdullah did not understand why he could not pick up his son and take him to the hotel he had booked. But Lutfiyah knew that if he picked them up, they would have to invite him in and he would want to meet her and May and they would have to entertain him. After the almost two days of traveling, Lutfiyah felt like crying at the thought of meeting anyone new without a shower, food and sleep. Not even in that order. Jaafar, the absolute king that he was, completely understood and had promised her that he would never intentionally place her in a situation where she was ambushed and out of bounds.

His father had not been happy but had seemed to understand. Lutfiyah wasn't so sure about that; he was Arab and hospitality was everything to them but there was nothing she could do about it now anyway.

They had a car waiting as it had been the most that Jaafar had agreed to and the drive from King Shaka International Airport was smooth and incident free; Jaafar locating their hotel with minimum fuss. They checked in and Lutfiyah was pleasantly surprised to find food waiting in the kitchen.

Jaafar grinned. "I ordered it just as we left the airport. Uber Eats is a lifesaver everywhere, right?"

Lutfiyah smiled through her tears and felt mortified. "Oh my Allah, you are going to think that I cry everytime we enter a new country," she cried, thinking back to their honeymoon.

Jaafar chuckled, pulling her into a warm hug. "Never. Honestly, I feel like shedding a few tears myself at the smell of that."

May had already rolled her new car-shaped bag to pack it away, her sickness having flown away with their airplane. Jaafar gestured to the kitchen and packed their bags away while Lutfiyah got their food ready.

"Burgers burgers burgers! I love burgers!" May came storming in, her loud and enthusiastic voice a drill in Lutfiyah's head. She didn't know if it was nerves or stress but just the thought of the food suddenly had her stomach rolling with nausea. She felt her mouth fill with bile and ran to the bathroom, the plane's lovely lunch exiting her body too fast for her to have time to slam the door closed behind her.